FA face FIFA sanctions over red-card rules

The Football Association, already under fire over Rio Ferdinand's drugs-test case, could face embarrassing sanctions over their failure to introduce new international rules on red cards, FIFA president Sepp Blatter warned today.

The FA, who have been accused of dragging their feet on the Ferdinand affair, face disciplinary action because they have not brought in immediate suspensions for players sent off, as the world governing body demands.

FIFA have the power to ban England from international football - including from the Euro 2004 finals and 2006 World Cup - if the FA do not adopt the new rules.

Blatter admitted that FIFA's disciplinary committee was unlikely to go that far but he planned to call FA chief executive Mark Palios as soon as possible about the issue.

"I think the disciplinary committee would do something like issue a stiff warning drawing attention to the problem and warning about the consequences of any repetition," he said.

The FA insist they will not change their rules until the end of the season, which means any players shown a red card do not start a ban for a further 14 days instead of in the next game in the same competition, as FIFA demands.

FIFA are already keeping an eye on the case of Ferdinand, who failed to attend a drugs test in September, and will intervene if they feel the FA have not handled the matter correctly.

Blatter said: "What I'm not happy about is the speed, rather the non-speed, of dealing with it. Such a case should be dealt with immediately."